Vattenfall Exiting Denmark's Fossil Fuel Power Market

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Sweden's state-owned Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) is almost out of Denmark's fossil-fuel power sector with the announcement that it is selling its Nordjylland combined heat and power (CHP) plant near Aalborg in northern Jutland.

The company said the sale of its final coal-fired plant there is in line with its shift towards more renewable energy and that it will remain active in the Danish renewables sector. The sale, valued at approximately $122 million, follows on from the sale of the Amager Power Station in 2013 and Fyns Power Station in 2014. All three plants were fuelled mainly by coal with some co-firing from biomass, running in tandem with much smaller, dedicated biomass units.

The Nordjylland plant has a total generating capacity of 436-megawatts (MW): the coal-fired Unit 3 supplying 411 MW with a separate gas-fired unit supplying an additional 25 MW. The plant also supplies 490MJ/s of district heating. The main Unit 3 was commissioned in 1998, and held a world record as the most efficient coal-fired power station, said Vattenfall, with up to 91% of the coal utilised.

Vattenfall is attempting to move away from coal-fired power and has accelerated attempts to sell-off assets in Europe over the past year. The company is hoping to sell off 9,000 MW of lignite coal-fired power plants in the eastern part of Germany. For additional information, see November 10, 2014, article - Vattenfall to Sell German Coal Operations.

"With the divestment in Denmark, Vattenfall has completed an important step in its transition from fossil fuels into renewable energies", said Ingrid Bonde, Vattenfall's Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Denmark is a key renewables market for Vattenfall, which remains the largest owner and producer of onshore wind power in the country, operating 262 wind turbines across 37 windfarms.

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